Let's defend the Truth

A)  The text of the speech by J.M.Bergoglio:

“The Gospel tells us nothing: if (the Virgin Mary) said a word or not … She was silent, but in her heart, how many things she said to the Lord! ‘You, that day – this is what we’ve read – told me that he will be great; you told me that you would have given him the throne of David, his father; that he would have reigned forever and now I see him there!’. Our Lady was human and perhaps wanted to say to the Lord: “Lies! I was deceived!”: John Paul II said this, speaking about Our Lady at that time. But she, with silence, has covered the mystery that she did not understand and, with this silence, has left that this mystery could grow and flourish in the hope” (morning meditation in the chapel of the DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE,  December 20 2013)

B) References to Scriptures:

“Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said’ ” (Luk 1:38)

“Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed – and a sword will pierce your soul too — so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare’ ” (Luk 2:34-45)

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home ” (Joh 19:25-27)

C) Comment:

The Mystery of Mary cannot be humanized or emptied of Its essence: Mary is the “most pure”, the “full of grace”, the Mother of God, She by Her “yes” has initiated the Mystery of Redemption surrendering to the Will of the eternal Father for ever and She well knew that a sword would have pierced Her soul.

Mary is the perfect example of loving obedience and total and unconditional abandonment to the Father’s Will, as testified by the words She uttered in the Annunciation (“I am the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to your word) and in the Magnificat (“the Almighty Father has done great things in me“).

How dare Bergoglio insinuate the doubt that Our Lady had felt deceived by the Father? Once again, what spirit has suggested Bergoglio this reflection, that finds no basis either in the Holy Scripture or in those who, throughout history, have helped to understand and to live the Mystery of Mary’s Life?

Bergoglio quotes John Paul II because he would have said these words spoken by Mary: “Lies! I was deceived“. There is no evidence that John Paul II had ever made such a claim, contrary to the Scriptures and to the Christian teachings.

John Paul II, contrary to the statement made by Bergoglio, has exalted Mary’s faith at the highest point of her being co-redeemer of Jesus, by writing in the encyclical “Redemptoris Mater”: “Great and heroic then is the obedience of faith shown by Mary in front of the «inscrutable judgments» of God! This is how She «surrenders to God» without reserve, «offering full submission of intellect and will» to Him whose «ways are inaccessible» (Rm 11, 33). … through this faith, Mary is perfectly united with Christ in his self-emptying. … At the foot of the Cross, Mary through Her faith participates in the disconcerting mystery of this self- emptying. This is perhaps the deepest «kenosis» of faith in human history. Through faith the Mother participates in the death of the Son, in His redeeming death; but, unlike that of the disciples who fled, hers was a far more enlightened faith. On Golgotha, Jesus through the Cross definitively confirmed to be the «sign of contradiction» foretold by Simeon. At the same time, the words he addressed to Mary, there, were fulfilled: «And also to you a sword will pierce your soul».” (Redemptoris Mater of John Paul II)

(For more on this topic, please visit the following link: Bergoglio and the Mystery of the Cross – part I and Bergoglio and the Mystery of the Cross – part II)